To Choose and Be Chosen (A Swan Queen Fanfic)
by juicecupswanqueen
Summary: This is a Tumblr Prompt. In an inebriated upset, Emma punches Robin Hood at the Rabbit Hole for choosing Marian over Regina and to defend Regina's honor.


**Tumblr Prompt:** Emma, a little drunk and pissed that Regina took Robin back so easily asks him one night at the Rabbit hole, whether, if the real Marian were to actually come back, if he would choose her over Regina again. Regina finds out after Emma drunkenly beats him up for his answer.

* * *

Emma Swan's fist connected with the man's face with a loud crack and the satisfaction of seeing the man fall backward and land on his back did little to sooth her rage. The blonde sheriff swayed a little bit in light of the alcohol she had consumed that evening but she wasn't knee walking drunk or unaware of what she was doing. She was just a tad sloshed and in full control of her thoughts and actions though her inhibitions might be a bit relaxed.

"Bloody hell," Robin whined rolling on the ground. "I think you broke my nose."

"It'll be an improvement!" Emma shouted back, ignoring the stinging of her knuckles. "You don't even deserve her. Even at her WORST she's too good for the likes of you."

Emma looked around then and saw the attention they were getting. She saw Ashley and Aurora with their husbands sitting in a curved booth looking at the commotion over their drinks, which meant by morning, her parents would know. Sighing, she stepped over him not delivering the kick to his stomach she wanted to give him. He wasn't worth it, the dishonorable bastard.

She stumbled out into the cool night air and digging into her pocket she pulled her car keys out, but good sense won out before she could unlock the door. Whiskey and beer were a lethal combination and she had been drinking both before Robin Hood had walked into the bar and without invitation, taken a seat next to her.

They had drunk a few rounds together becoming more inebriated and loose-lipped. She had asked him the question plaguing her mind since Regina had taken the jackass back again.

" _If Marian… the REAL Marian came back suddenly tomorrow. Who would you choose?"_

 _Emma tested him with her narrowed eyes and his reply stumped her._

" _No matter where we are, or what we face, I want to be with you."_

" _What?"_

 _She watched his brow dip and his eyes became moist. Was he going to cry? Emma looked around the bar not entirely sure what was happening._

" _She's my wife."_

 _Emma was a little dumbfounded thanks to the long neck bottle she had in her hand. How much had they drunk already together, though she had started before he came in? "Regina's not your wife."_

" _No. Marian is."_

" _Marian?" What he was saying hit her then. "You'd still choose Marian?"_

" _She's my wife. She's Roland's mother. I love her deeply…" He said love, not loved, Emma steamed. Somewhere, she understood it. Robin and Marian must have had the kind of love that her parents have. "I have loved her for many years."_

 _Emma felt sick. She scoffed and spoke more to herself. "You'd choose Marian."_ Poor Regina.

 _Robin must have thought she was speaking to him because he nodded as he gulped down large sips of his beer. "Yes. In a heart beat."_

 _That last sentence is what pushed Emma over the edge and her eyes stared straight ahead in indignation._ What about Regina?

 _The next thing the savior knew she had grabbed Robin Hood by the lapel of his dark forest green coat and was yelling obscenities at him, the last being, "You goddamn son of a bitch!" and then she punched him right in the face. The man went down like a sack of potatoes and Emma stood over him wishing he would get back up and take a swing at her._

Jingling her car keys in her hand, Emma walked past her car and started off down the road toward town. It was bad enough that the town sheriff had gotten drunk and had punched the bejeezus out of someone tonight. She would be damned if she continued being a bad role model by driving under the influence.

It was quite a walk back to her apartment and when she unlocked the door and stepped in she found her parents on the other side of the kitchen counter, holding cups of tea, and Regina, whom they were speaking to spun around angrily shooting daggers with her eyes. The blonde had sobered up quite a bit in the long time it took to get back to her neighborhood and the cool fresh air helped considerably, but she was in no mood to fight with Regina Mills tonight.

"Just what in the HELL did you think you were doing, Miss Swan?"

"That's none of your business." Emma raised her chin defiantly and Regina's jaw dropped. "What happened between Robin and me is exactly that, between us and doesn't concern you," which was a load of crap, Emma thought. Of course it involved Regina, but Emma couldn't bring herself to tell Regina what Robin had told her. "How did you find out about it anyway?"

"Charlie, the bartender, called me right after you left, telling me that you broke Robin's nose! I healed it, by the way."

"Awww, well doesn't that make me feel all warm and fuzzy with RELIEF," Emma quipped sarcastically as she took a step toward her bedroom, but her elbow was pulled and Regina yanked so hard that Emma turned fully. She tried to forget the tingling sensation in the crook of her elbow; any spot really where Regina touched her. She always felt that unexplainable prickle that she thought must be their magic, and she wondered if Regina felt it too.

Regina pulled her hand away and looked down at Emma's elbow with a frown. _Oh yeah, she felt it. How crazy weird is that?_ "What's wrong with you?"

The blonde ignored the innocent concern of the question and focused on the wording instead. "Right. Because it's always ME, isn't it? What's wrong with ME!" She took a step closer to Regina who instinctively took a step back. "I'll tell you what's wrong with me! EVERYTHING is wrong with me! I'm not the right PERSON is all, am I?"

Regina was squinting at her as if she were morphing into some sort of unknown and indiscernible being, but Emma was making complete sense in her head. Emma started toward her parents to address them. "You want to know what the only disadvantage of NOT growing up in the Enchanted Forest is? Not understanding how you people think! With all your poofy magic and fucking fairy dust!"

Emma watched Regina cross her arms and eye her curiously and a little condescendingly, which drove the savior crazy. At that moment, Hook came in.

"Well I haven't seen her… Swan!" She deduced that apparently Hook had gone out to see if could find her and all she could do was shake her head.

"Look there he is… my BOYFRIEND from the Enchanted Forest. You…" she pointed at him for emphasis, "…that my parents surprisingly adore." She swiveled to Regina. "See? Even when I'm getting it RIGHT, I'm NOT getting it right. What the FUCK is wrong with me?"

Regina stood watching the savior have a meltdown. The woman's parents stood in the kitchen with a deer-in-the-headlights look plastered on each of their faces and the boyfriend a few feet from the door looking as if he might want to leave. Emma huffed and passed Hook without a passing glance but when he turned and she opened the door, she glared at him. "Don't follow me," she glowered, "I am warning you," and she slammed the door behind her.

There was a moment of awkward silence and Regina scowled at Hook. "Well! Follow her, you idiot!"

"Eh… she clearly told me not to." He waved his hook at the Charmings, "You all heard it, yeah?"

"Oh for goodness sakes," Regina huffed, rolled her eyes and disappeared in a cloud of smoke just outside the apartment building, found Emma a few yards away and caught up to her rather quickly. When she sidled up to the woman, Regina placed her hands in her jacket pocket and kept time easily with her companion.

"Well, that was certainly interesting. Are you planning to have another break-down tomorrow at the same time? I'll be sure to bring a bowl of popcorn and a licorice whip."

The savior halted and turned. "He's an asshole."

"Yes, I wholeheartedly agree," Regina surrendered with her hands in the air and Emma stared back to her in surprised wonder. "Hook is definitely an asshole."

Emma twisted her mouth and started walking and so did Regina. "Not mine. Yours."

"Emma…. EMMA!" Despite the tingling, Regina touched Emma's elbow again and they both stopped. "What happened? At the Rabbit Hole tonight?"

Emma slumped her shoulders, threw her head back and stared up at the night sky. There were so many stars out and the full moon bathed the entire town in a glow that was sufficiently bright enough that it was the perfect night for a romantic stroll. How ironic that she and Regina would be the only ones out to enjoy it.

"He said he'd choose Marian." Emma brought her head down expecting a wounded expression on Regina's face but the woman just stared back at her with that signature Regina blinking frown, the same look that crazily enough endeared the woman to her. Emma had to admit sometimes she would just say and do ridiculous things in the past just to receive such a look from the mayor. "If Marian came back tomorrow. He would choose Marian over you." Regina scrunched her nose and eyes up in bafflement.

"And that's why you hit him?"

"OF COURSE THAT'S WHY I HIT HIM!" Emma gaped at her. "Do you not hear the words coming out of my mouth, Regina? If his wife came back TOMORROW, he would choose HER instead of YOU in a heartbeat. The 'in a heartbeat' being HIS words."

"Emma, I know that! I wouldn't expect anything else from him." When Emma continued to stare at her with wide-eyed astonishment, Regina prattled on. "I was the one who TOLD him to LEAVE in the first place, remember? I only went after him because Marian turned out to be Zelena and I felt he and Roland were in danger. True, after he left, it was hard at first but I was dealing with him not being here. I was more concerned with finding my happy ending, not finding him. Letting the man chose his wife was the right thing to do and I stand by that. I was moving on without him, remember? I wanted to try and find my happy ending, get back to feeling how I felt when he was around, yes, but he didn't have to necessarily BE around. Now, that he's back, I realize we have a long way to go."

"You took him BACK so easily, though, and that's messed up. Regina, he didn't believe you. Didn't trust you! Made it seem like you were just some jealous stalker ex."

The muscle in Regina's jaw worked angrily. "Yes. Yes, he did and I have not forgotten about that."

Emma's filter, the one between her brain and her mouth seemed to have been misplaced because she just went on. "Good! Because you shouldn't. You shouldn't have to settle for crap like that. You deserve better than that, Regina." Emma huffed. "You deserve someone who is going to believe in you. And trust you. And FIGHT for you."

The corners of Regina's mouth tilted up slightly and descended higher with each passing second. "Someone like you? Blooding people's noses on my behalf?"

"Hell yes!"

"And you believe in me and trust me?"

"With my LIFE!" Emma exclaimed. "And our son's life." Regina put her hands in her pockets and her face took on a healthy and considerably happier color that could be seen even in the moonlight. Emma noticed the beauty of it. Was she still a little drunk? Not drunk. Loose-lipped. "Beautiful."

There was a flicker of understanding in Regina's eyes and her eyes darted to Emma's lips. "You mean the moonlight, don't you Miss Swan?"

"No," Emma said without blinking and at Regina's gasp she corrected quickly, "I mean, yes." And she looked up into the sky, "Yeah… the moon. It's so… round." Regina stifled a giggle by clearing her throat and nodded. "Please don't marry Robin."

"I'm not marrying anyone, Emma."

"Do you love him? Robin?"

"I…" Regina sighed on a long exhale. "I don't know him. We're getting to know each other." They had resumed walking. "Do you love the pirate?"

"Kinda… sorta… not… I don't know. He seems to be right. I mean, it should be right, but…" Emma trailed off and their eyes held.

"So you've said."

They both stopped walking again. The blonde looked into the older woman's eyes and whether it was the lingering effects of the alcohol or the pull of Regina herself, Emma couldn't help but peer into the mayor's eyes.

"You deserve to be CHOSEN, Regina."

"And you deserve the right to CHOOSE, Emma."

They drew a fraction closer but then pulled apart again.

"Come on," Regina said, "Granny's is still open. You need a cup of coffee and maybe an order of fatty onion rings to sop up that alcohol."

"Now, you are speaking my language. Let's add some mozzarella cheese sticks and ranch dressing and it's a date." They both looked at each other and blushed. "Uh… I meant."

"Yeah, I know what you meant, Miss Swan."

They walked companionably to the diner and Emma thought about how comfortable it was being with Regina and how glad she was that Regina had decided to come after her and watch over her, like she usually did.

Regina knew she should probably be with Robin, whose pride was sorely wounded getting beat up by the town sheriff who happened to be a woman, but Emma needed her and being with the savior had always felt like the right place to be.


End file.
